It follows the postponement of the French Open, which was due to begin in May but has been rescheduled to 20 September-4 October.

Former champion Roger Federer, and other tennis superstars reacted to the development, with Federer saying he was “devastated” following the news.

Serena Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon women’s singles champion, was also rocked by the news as the American tweeted: “I’m Shooked (sic)”.

Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep are current champions. Halep, who defeated Serena in last year’s women’s final tweeted: “So sad to hear Wimbledon won’t take place this year.

“Last year’s final will forever be one of the happiest days of my life! But we are going through something bigger than tennis and Wimbledon will be back! And it means I have even longer to look forward to defending my title.”

Wimbledon is usually the third Grand Slam of the year, and is known to be the oldest of all four major tournaments in the sport.